Music. Local heroes.

Sonia Dada Finds Most Of Its Good Fortune On The Road

November 12, 1999|By Dan Kening, Tribune Staff Writer.

There is no "Sonia Dada" in the Chicago rock 'n' soul band Sonia Dada, but one could make a good case that Sonia Dada is Dan Pritzker. Although the self-effacing Pritzker, the band's founder, chief songwriter and rhythm guitarist, might not agree, it's his songs that power the octet.

The band was formed in 1990 when rock scene veteran Pritzker encountered singers Paris Delane, Michael Scott and Sam Hogan singing in the Chicago Avenue subway station. Blown away by their voices, Pritzker invited the dubious trio to record some of his songs.

Nine years, four albums and hundreds of gigs later, the band is still going strong, as evidenced by the new live album, "Lay Down and Love It Live," with dynamic versions of longtime favorites such as "Planes & Satellites" and "Amazing Jane."

"We had gotten such a good response to our live show over the years that it seemed like a good time to do a live record," says Pritzker. "Previously I had felt that the visual impact of the live show was such a big deal -- this bizarre, multicolored octopus of a band on stage -- that if you took that away perhaps people might be let down. But as I listened to the playback I felt reassured."

Indeed, powered by the soulful vocals of Delane, Scott and Shawn Christopher (who replaced Hogan), the fatback bass of Erik Scott, Phil Miller's incendiary guitar work and the addition of a four-piece horn section, the album loses nothing in translation.

Sonia Dada is much better known around the country than in its hometown, where it plays perhaps once a year. Pritzker sounds sheepish in trying to explain. "We do tend to have more success outside of Chicago," he says. "I don't know what to tell you about that. Maybe we should be playing more in Chicago. I'm kind of a shy person, and shameless self-promotion is something I'm not very good at, and maybe I'm even more reticent in my own hometown. The shows we do are always well supported, and WXRT has always been very supportive. But if I knew an answer, I'd do something about it."